


Taking Out the Trash

by BitterSnowflake



Category: Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: F/M, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:00:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27963428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BitterSnowflake/pseuds/BitterSnowflake
Summary: Thank you for reading!
Relationships: Tom Hiddleston/Reader, Tom Hiddleston/You
Kudos: 20





	Taking Out the Trash

You sat curled up into a ball in front of the entrance to your apartment building. Your entire body was shaking and your bum had numbed from sitting on the cold asphalt for what felt like ages. You sighed heavily and groaned at the sight of your warm breath looking like smoke as it left your mouth. ‘I could kill for a bloody cigarette right about now,’ you thought bitterly. You had recently quit smoking for what must have been the fifth or sixth time, trying to convince yourself that this time it would be for real, that this time you would finally succeed in adopting a healthier lifestyle.

“Fuck,” you muttered angrily to yourself and wrapped your arms tighter around your body, desperately trying to regain some body heat. “I don’t understand how homeless people do this,” you mused and restlessly tapped your fingers against your knees. You were scared half to death when you suddenly received a reply from the shadows.

“I’m guessing they don’t have much of a choice.” It was a man’s voice. You squinted as you tried to discern if there really was anyone there, or if you had finally gone insane. A tall figure approached from the shadows and you were met by an amused smile directed at you by the handsome stranger.

“Oh, thank God. I thought for a moment that I had finally begun hearing voices,” you uttered with relief and returned the man’s smile. “Do you live here?” you asked hopefully and proceeded to stand up on your frozen stiff legs.

“Yes, in fact I do. I take it you do too? Did you lock yourself out, dear?” the man replied sociably as he pulled out his keys to unlock the entrance door.

“Yep. That’s what I get for finally taking the trash out. Or rather, trying to take the trash out,” you explained, motioning towards the plastic bags on the ground, causing the stranger to laugh. “Well, I couldn’t get into the trash room without my keys,” you added, beginning to feel a bit self-conscious. There you were talking to an elegantly dressed, rather good-looking stranger with a charming smile and a wonderful laugh, whereas you were humbly dressed in a pair of oversized sweatpants and a worn out hoodie.

“Oh, where are my manners? I’m Tom,” the man introduced himself and held out his hand towards you.

“[Your name],” you replied and took his wonderfully warm hand in yours. You could feel a wave heat spread across your cheeks as your eyes met briefly, and you immediately lowered your gaze to look down at your feet. As if your other clothes weren’t unimpressive enough, your feet were placed in a pair of once white slippers that should have been thrown away years ago. In contrast, Tom was wearing a pair of rather expensive looking shoes without a sign of abrasion.

“You’re cold as ice, darling. For how long have you been out here?” Tom wondered concernedly.

“I honestly don’t know. What time is it?” you asked and looked up at him again.

“It’s about half past twelve,” he replied after a quick glance at his designer watch.

“It’s past twelve?! You’re kidding me right? Then I’ve been out here for over two hours…” you replied, sincerely surprised by this new information.

“Why don’t you go inside and I’ll throw away the trash for you,” Tom offered as he unlocked the door, holding it open for you.

“You’re an angel,” you replied, beaming at him before you got inside. “Thank you so much, Tom. I really appreciate it,” you added as you pressed your cold hands against the warm radiator.

“No worries, [Your name],” Tom assured you before he went back outside. You got butterflies in your stomach at the sound of his pleasant voice uttering your name and bit your lip to stop yourself from grinning widely like a fool in love. You couldn’t possibly fall for someone you just met, right? You didn’t get that much time to reflect over your feelings, before the door was once again opened by Tom. You frowned slightly as you found that he was still holding the plastic bags in his hands.

“Are you sure you meant to throw this away?” Tom questioned, pointing to one of the bags on which you had scrabbled the words ‘for charity’. You gasped in horror and covered your mouth with your hand.

“Oh no,” you groaned into the palm of your hand before moving it away from your mouth. “This is so horrible. Then I must have put my trash into the clothing donation bin this morning. Oh my God,” you said exasperatedly and buried your face in your hands in shame. “I am such a bad person. Please, tell me this didn’t happen.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, darling. It was an honest mistake. That doesn’t make you a bad person,” Tom assured you and smiled warmly at you as he walked up to you. “Do you mind if I walk you to your apartment? Just to make sure that you get home properly,” he offered, adding the last part quickly, realising that it might have sounded like he had an ulterior motive with his request.

“Please do,” you replied with a smile. “Do you want me to carry the bags?” you offered, after all they were all yours.

“It wouldn’t be very gentlemanlike to have you carry the bags, now would it?” Tom smiled at you as you proceeded to walk up the stairs.

“I suppose not,” you laughed, leading the way. “Here’s me,” you announced, stopping in front of a door after two flights of stairs.

“Seriously? I live just across the hall,” Tom announced with a smile.

“You’re kidding me right? I’ve been living here for almost a year now, and not once have I seen you,” you said, placing a hand on the door handle to your apartment.

“It’s been a busy year for me. My work includes quite some travelling, and lately I’ve been away a lot more than usual,” he explained.

“Ah, I see. Are you like a businessman or something?” you asked, thinking that would explain why he was so well-dressed. “What the hell?” you groaned as you tried to open your door. You pressed down the handle and pulled for your dear life, but the door wouldn’t bulge. With a frown, you stared at your name on the mailbox.

“Did you lock yourself out from your apartment as well?” Tom asked, suppressing a smile as you groaned and threw your arms out dramatically.

“It shouldn’t even be possible to do that! What sadistic arseholes constructed the door locks like that?!” you complained. “Oh crap, I’m waking the entire building with my wailing, aren’t I?” you asked, adopting a much lower tone of voice.

“Probably just half the building,” Tom said humorously and winked at you. “You don’t have any children or pets in there that are in acute need of your care, do you?”

“If I had any children in there I most certainly would have bothered a whole bunch of people in order to get access to my apartment. What horrible mother do you think I would be?” you asked fiercely, but the anger immediately drained from your face once you looked up at your neighbour who seemed to be highly amused by your defensive reaction. “Oh, you weren’t assuming I had… great. I’m coming off as a bit of an arse, am I not?”

“Not at all, dear,” Tom assured you. “I wouldn’t be in a good mood either if I were in your situation. Would you like to come over to my place? You can spend the night and we’ll call the rental host first thing in the morning,” he suggested and to your delight this seemingly so confident man was indeed blushing a little. “We would of course sleep separately, if you were to accept my invitation,” he added with a somewhat embarrassed smile.

“I got that,” you assured him and smiled brightly at him. “And I would love to stay the night, if you don’t mind. I promise, I will try my best not to be in your way,” you added.

“You wouldn’t be in my way,” Tom told you and motioned for you to follow him across the hall. “Quite the opposite actually, I welcome your company.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
